Atlas Funded offers free bot challenges

Atlas Funded is pitching a “Free Access” prop-trading challenge that lets traders start an evaluation without paying upfront and settle the fee only after they pass. (atlasfunded.com) (help.atlasfunded.com) On its Free Access page, the firm says traders can begin for $0, face no maximum time limit, and choose simulated account sizes from $5,000 to $400,000. (atlasfunded.com) Atlas says the model is built around a one-step evaluation. Its help center describes a parallel “$1 Access” version with a 4% profit target, 7% maximum overall loss in evaluation, and a funded fee charged only after the trader qualifies. (help.atlasfunded.com) For bot traders, the key detail is that Atlas explicitly allows Expert Advisors, or automated trading systems, on both evaluation and funded accounts. It also says scripts and algorithmic strategies can be used as long as they stay inside the firm’s risk rules. (help.atlasfunded.com 1) (help.atlasfunded.com 2) But “bot-friendly” does not mean every machine-driven strategy is allowed. Atlas says high-frequency trading bots, trades held for less than three minutes, tick scalping, latency arbitrage, and hedging across brokers or prop firms are prohibited. (help.atlasfunded.com 1) (help.atlasfunded.com 2) That matters because many social-media posts about “free bot challenges” blur the line between ordinary automation and arbitrage-style systems. Atlas’s published rules support automated execution, but they cut off strategies that rely on broker delays, ultra-fast order placement, or risk-free offsetting between firms. (help.atlasfunded.com) The economics are also narrower than “free funded capital” suggests. In the $1 Access model, Atlas says traders still pay a post-pass account fee that ranges from $58 for a $5,000 account to $2,040 for a $400,000 account, and the fee is refunded on the fourth payout. (help.atlasfunded.com) Once funded, the risk limits tighten. Atlas says Access accounts move from a 10% maximum drawdown in evaluation to 6% in the funded stage, while daily drawdown drops from 5% to 3%. (help.atlasfunded.com) Atlas is not the first prop firm to use giveaways, competitions, or low-cost trials to attract traders, but its current marketing pushes the idea that the upfront barrier can be cut to zero or near-zero. The real filter shifts to hitting the target without breaking tightly defined execution rules. (help.atlasfunded.com) (atlasfunded.com) So the offer is real, but the fine print is the story: Atlas is opening the door to automated traders while barring the exact arbitrage and ultra-fast tactics that many “bot” promoters emphasize online. (atlasfunded.com) (help.atlasfunded.com)